Secret desires of a dwarf
by lothlorienlust
Summary: As a new member to the company of Thorin Oakenshield, Elsa must try to fit in, but she is thrown by the arrival of the young dwarves Fili and Kili. This is the story of her confusion, the fun and surprises she encounters on their arrival.


Travelling alone would be a piece of cake, or so Elsa had thought upon setting out on her journey. It had been three days now and although she was on schedule, her supplies were running low and her motivation to continue was wavering. Her destination was Fortwin, a small village located near the the Coldfells of the Ettenmoors. She had business there with the Free Peoples, and was hoping to arrive before the following spring. Her first few nights on the road had been uneventful, except a run in with a drunken hobbit on the outskirts of the shire. She was ½ dwarf, ½ human, her stature was similar to a dwarf in size but slightly leaner, and although her nose was that of a dwarf her lack of facial hair set her apart from her father's kin.

It was in her second week of travelling that she met the company of Thorin Oakenshield. They had been drawn to her by her scream of pain as her pony Jill had backed carelessly onto her foot causing a shooting pain to run up her leg, bringing tears to her eyes. They had naturally offered assistance, as was polite for dwarf-folk to help their kin, and after much inward discussion and persuasion of Thorin, the leader of the company, it was decided that until she was able to defend herself once more Elsa should be accompanied. It was thereby she became a temporary member of the company on their journey east.

On the first evening of her time with the company it became apparent to Elsa that there were smaller groups among the company and that each dwarf played an important role in the functioning of the party. It wasn't long until she had, with the help of her new friend, the hobbit Bilbo, identified each dwarf by their name, though she was aware that two had been missing on her arrival, scouting ahead. It took her longer in particular to distinguish between Ori, Nori and Dori but after being corrected – though kindly- several times she mastered them. That evening Elsa sat at the fire listening and watching the dwarves go about their business, while she warmed herself by the fire she had help make earlier.

Thorin was pacing agitatedly, 'they should be back by now..' he muttered to himself. 'Don't worry, you know how they like their adventures..' Balin said in an effort to comfort him. Elsa assumed they were speaking of the youngest members of the company who she had yet to see or meet. She listened intently leaning unintentionally nearer to the speakers so as to hear well. 'I know Balin, I know, but-' Thorin stopped abruptly as two figures appeared from the trees. The two young looking dwarves were laughing and joking with each other, playfully pushing one another as they made their way to camp. One, the shorter of the two had blonde hair, his moustache in two braids, he carried an axe strung on his back. The other with brown, rugged hair falling at his shoulders had a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows behind him. Elsa fell suddenly to the floor, the log she had been sitting rolling away. Flustered she got herself together, standing up trying to ignore the stifled laughs of the other dwarves. She looked up, blushing furiously as the two young dwarves looked at her. The blonde was laughing to himself whereas the brunette was restraining himself to a small smile playing on his lips.

'Boys..' Thorin said warningly.. and as if on cue both bowed deeply 'Fili..' said the blonde, 'and Kilì..' the brunette added. 'At your service' they pronounced surfacing from their bows of courtesy. Still brimming with embarrassment Elsa too bowed deeply, 'Elsa at yours' she replied quietly- to her annoyance. There was a moment of silence as the two parties inspected the other, each dwarf eyeing the other up with interest, until Thorin cleared his throat and suggested that Fili and Kilì had something to eat. This distracted the two young dwarves long enough for them to moved past Elsa and take a seat at the fire. Elsa mumbled something unintelligible and quickly walked into the wood, trying her best to disguise her limping leg. _Great_ she thought _that was a bad first impression… _though little did she know that one of the brothers had watched her leave, his eyes alight with fierce curiosity.


End file.
